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Hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation to assist the National Security Space Office study on Space-Based Solar Power development.

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Anything you say here may influence the security space community to advance space-based solar power technologies like low cost launch systems, wireless power transmission, on-orbit construction, and extraterrestrial resource development that are needed to harvest endless clean energy from space.

Power Grids May Need Modernization to Take SBSP!

It is critical for business case developers and architectural designers to consider how we will feed the energy provided by space-based solar power satellites from the rectifying antenna on the ground into the existing power grids. Wind power is already having a major problem within this.

Our friend, starbase202, sent me this interesting article that describes the problem. It comes from the New York Times online: (please disregard shots taken at political figures in the article–that’s not our aim here)

6 Responses to “Power Grids May Need Modernization to Take SBSP!”

Allen Taylorsaid

The issue of an antiquated grid is being addressed from a technical standpoint by the IEEE. The 2009 Power Systems conference & Exposition will be held MArch 15-18 in Seattle. for more info go to http://www.pscexpo.com.

Coyotesaid

Jeff Barnessaid

The case is a little peculiar in that transmission line placement is done to avoid areas that have high constant wind. Wind turbines are instaleed in these areas so that new transmission lines have to be run to these locations. Wind causes the induction and capacitance between the lines to change causing increased power loss in the transmission. A SBSP rectenna would be easily placed next to a transmission backbone such as the one that travels north-south down the center of the Florida peninsula. The large cities and generation plants which are all on the coast are nodes off of the central backbone. The plants are located on the coast for assured access to water for cooling. The rectenna dosen’t need water just open area. Most high power transmission travels through open areas because it is cheaper than trying to run it through high population or rough terrain. This is true for the placement of a rectenna as well so most of the transmission line problems for wind power won’t show up as a problem for SBSP. It will be treated just like any other large power plant that is remote location. In fact rectennas could be co-located to existing power plants since they are generally out away from population areas.

Neil Coxsaid

Hi Jeff; Thank you. I was not aware of the Florida peninsula backbone and you are correct, there are no large cities, except Orlando near the center line of the peninsula. There are however some power plants along the ST Johns River. At Palatka, Florida, about 30 miles West of the Atlantic Ocean and at Sanford, Florida about 40 miles West of the Atlantic Ocean and about 10 miles East of Orlando.
For bringing West Texas wind turbine power To Tampa, Florida (on the Gulf coast about 50 miles West of Orlando) I have been suggesting HVDC, because the distance is about 1000 miles, and losses would be about half for a equally costly one gigawatt three phase ac power line. About half as much copper is required for HVDC, an important consideration as copper prices will likely continue to rise. I suppose capacitance and inductance changes (due to wind gusts and turbulence) also produce some mischief on HVDC, but I would think much less power loss than 60 hertz.
Unless we start thinking much less than the typical ten to twenty square miles for rectennas, they need to be built on water, swamp, or other very cheap land. Several very wide spots in the St. Johns river might be a good location, for Florida. The St. Johns River has a maximum depth of about 80 feet, and flows gently. Neil

The St. Johns stretches some 310 miles from Jax to Indian River in the middle of the state. Its velocity is very low since there is a difference in elevation of only 30 feet from mouth to highest point. This flat characteristic allows it to spread to an average width of 2 miles, maximum 3 miles. There is a lot of swamp and otherwise undeveloped land surrounding it and continuing down to the Everglades. I’m a former Jax resident, now living in Tampa.